From WJZ-TV in Baltimore where she became fast friends with work colleague Oprah Winfrey to the CBS Morning News to anchoring, producing and reporting for NBC News, Maria proved herself again and again as someone who works hard and with a conscience. And why not?

The event is the largest one-day fundraiser conducted by Best Buddies; in nine years, the Best Buddies Challenge has raised over $35 million dollars through healthy competition between fundraising teams.

Get out and play tomorrow. Volunteer, coach someone, referee, cheer or do anything else that includes people with intellectual disabilities. My mother believed that, by doing so, our nation would be a better place and indeed the entire world would be a better place for everyone.

Whitman hates the comparison with Schwarzenegger, even though obvious, as both she and Schwarzenegger are Republicans, both are super-rich, and neither had any experience in elected office before running.

With the de facto passing of the Kennedy's in politics, we have truly reached the end of an era. What comes next, it seems, is an age in which the operative question has changed. It is now: what can America do for me?